1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a clamping hanger for an exercise mat.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
People use exercise mats when stretching or practicing yoga, Bikram or similar activities during which they perspire. Exercise mats are typically rectangular, range from an eighth of an inch to an inch thick, from 20″ to 32″ wide, and from 60″ to 96″ long, to approximate human proportions. Even when covered with towels, exercise mats may still get wet from perspiration. Mats also need to be washed periodically.
Options for storing mats between uses have been limited. Mats are often slung over a towel bar or “ballet bar,” or anything else available. Such expedients may not permit mats to lie flat, and instead crease or bend them. Mat surface areas contacting a towel bar may not get enough ventilation to dry quickly. There are a variety of clothes hangers with clamps for holding pants, skirts, and other clothes, such as U.S. Pat. No. 6,021,933 by Zuckerman. A typical clothes hanger is at most 18″ wide; pants-hanging clamps are narrower than that. While a clamping clothes hanger may hold thinner and lighter exercise mats, narrowly spaced clips can make mat corners fold objectionably. Clips with smaller surface areas require intensified pressure on an exercise mat, which can damage or compromise the surface of the mat. Straps for hanging mats may also fail to hold them fully unrolled. Modifications to standard mats to hang with rings, Velcro, magnets, etc. may interfere with the intended use of an exercise mat. A conventional clamp mechanism which requires a user to squeeze the clamp open while lifting and positioning a heavier mat, rug or similar object to be hung, may be awkward to use.
Lacking a convenient way to store an exercise mat in its normal unrolled position, people typically roll mats up for transport and storage, and don't unroll them until the next use. Mats are thus stored damp and may not dry quickly. A rolled up and stored mat, when unrolled again tends not to initially lay in the desired flat position. Damp exercise mats that are not dried properly may build up undesirable bacteria, mold and odors.
There remains, therefore, a need for a technique of hanging and storing exercise mats or similar items in their normal flat shape.